William johnson



(No Model.) '2 SheetsSheet 1.

W. JOHNSON.

BRICK MACHINE.

No. 439,158. Patented Oct. 28, 1890.

'YWZrMsses M;Z

(No Model?) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W.v JOHNSON. BRICK MACHINE.

No. 439,158. Patented 0011.2 1890.

71 INVENTOR: 4 55439142614 45 m ezzysmuflif UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM JOHNSON, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND.

BRICK-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,158, dated October 28, 1890. Application filed March 28, 1890. Serial No. 345,636 (No model.) Patented in England March 6, 1889. No. 3,893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Castleton Foundry, Armley, Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Pressing San d-Faced Bricks,

(for which I have obtained Letters Patent in England, No. 3,893, dated March 6, 1889,) and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My said invention relates to an improved construction of apparatus for pressing san dfaced bricks, and comprises in the first place an arrangement of mechanism for avoiding the delay caused at present by the necessity of having frequently to stop such machines for the purpose of cleaning the mold from loose sand. For this purpose I provide a series of molds arranged on a circular table, having an intermittent revolving motion, so that while one mold is under the plunger of the pressingpart of the machine and the clay or brick is being fed and the pressed brickis being removed from the adjacent molds the other molds are clear from the plunger and bricks or clay and can be cleaned from the loose sand without any interruption to the continuous working of the machine. The mold-table receives an intermittent rotary motion by connecting the table to a central vertical shaft rotated intermittently through miter or bevel wheels from a second shaft, which second shaft is rotated intermittently from or by means of a pawl arrangement.

The invention also relates to the means or mechanism for opening and closing the molds at the proper periods. This I effect by means of a circular race having a raised portion .over which run wheels or rollers having their axles connected by links to the hinged sides of the molds. The table is locked in position during each pressing operation by means of a bolt which presses against ahorizontal race or groove of varying depth round the edge of the table,with recesses opposite each mold, into which latter the bolt is shot by a spring and is withdrawn therefrom when requisite by a cam-and-lever arrangement. I also apply an intermittent brake to the table,which, while allowing the table to be free at starting, afterward presses against the table in such a manner as to prevent the sudden jerk caused by the stoppage of the table by the catch-bolt, with the object of avoiding the spoiling of the under side and edges of the pressed brick by its motion (due to its inertia) in the open mold on the sudden stopping of the table. This arrangement consists of a spring brake or brakes pressing on the table.

The apparatus includes means for holding securely locked the hinged sides and ends of the mold during the pressing operation. This is effected by means of rollers attached to the plunger pressing against the upper beveled edges and outside plain parts of the hinged sides and ends of the mold. The pressure of the plunger on the brick is made adjustable by forming the upper recess of the connectingrod (which is provided for the reception of the crank-pin bush) elongated, so that the bush can slide therein, and by inserting a strong spring or springs beneath the bush to prevent breakage by excessive pressure. The adjustment is attained by a setscrew placed in the upper end of the connecting-rod and pressing down the bush.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved apparatus parallel to the line A B (J in the plan Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is a back elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the plunger-operating mechanism. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a side and sectional elevation, respectively, of the brakeblock and connections.

The molds a are arranged on a circular table b, to which an intermittent rotary motion is imparted from the driving-shaft c by means of the connecting-rod cl, with pawleattached thereto, working in gear with the ratchetwheel f on the end of the horizontal shaft g and the bevel-wheels h, one of the bevelwheels being keyed on the end of the shaft g and the other on the lower end of the vertical axis of the table I).

The molds a are provided with hinged sides and ends 2', connected by side links j to the wheels or rollers it, which run on the fixed circular inclined racel beneath the table. It will be noticed that the highest part of the race Z is situated immediately below the plunger m, and that the rollers 70, in ascending the incline of the race, gradually close the hinged sides and endst of the molds, and

in descending the opposite incline again gradually open the aforesaid sides and ends of the molds. In order to hold the sides and ends i of the molds securely locked during the pressing operation, rollers n are attached to the plunger m, which, when the plunger is at the bottom of its stroke, press against the upper edges of the sides and ends 2' of the molds, which edges are beveled or tapered off for the purpose.

The table I) is securely locked during the pressing operation by means of a springbolt 0, which by means of a spiral spring 1) is kept pressed against a horizontal race or groove w of varying depth, with recesses opposite each mold, into which recesses the bolt is shot by the spring 10. The bolt 0 is withdrawn at the proper moment by means of the rocking arm or lever q, actuated by the facecam 3. To avoid the jerk caused by the sudden stoppage of the table by the spring-bolt 0, the spring 19 or a secondspring for the purpose is arranged to press a brake-block u (shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings) against the edge of the table immediately prior to and during the time that the spring bolt 0 is being shot into the before-mentioned recesses in the table. The action of this spring against the brake maybe controlled by the rocking arm g, which latter is shown in said figures as connected both with the block and with the bolt, and face-cam s, or a separate lever and cam may be arranged for the purpose.

The upper end of the connecting-rod, at r, is made elongated, as shown in Fig. at, so that the bush can slide therein, and a strong spiral spring 22 is inserted beneath the bush, so as to yield in the event of excessive pressure, thereby obviating the liability to breakage. By means of the set-screw or bolt 25 the bush may be lowered in the elongated end of the connecting-rod to adjust the compression of the spring, or packing-pieces may be inserted beneath the crank-pin bush.

The elevation, Fig. 1, shows only two of the molds a. Similarly, to avoid complication, two molds only, diametrically opposite, are shown in the back elevation, which presupposes an even instead of an odd number of molds, as shown in the plan, Fig. 2.

It will be evident that the arrangement of links j, rollers k, and inclined race Z may be employed for automatically opening and closing molds in which the sides of the molds are movable at right angles to their faces, respectively, the vertical movement of the links j being made to impart a horizontal movement to the sides of such molds by means of L-levers; also, that the vertical motion of the connecting-rod (Z, by means of an L-lever arranged to give a horizontal reciprocating motion to a horizontal rod having a pawl attached thereto working into a ratchet-disk mounted on the axis of the table, may be caused to impart the intermittent rotary motion to the table a.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a brick-machine, the combination, with a circular table and molds having hinged sides, of rollers k, pivoted connections between said rollers and sides of the mold, and the inclined race Z, upon which said rollers move, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the table I), having a recessed groove .70, of the actuating-shaft 9, connected with the table, ratchet f, pawl e, rod d, shaft 0, cam s, lever q, and bolt o,substantially as set forth.

3. The rollersn, attached to the plungerm, for pressing against the upper (preferably beveled) edges or s des of the hinged sides and ends 1' of the molds a, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth, combined with the linksj, hinged to the said sides,and the race Z.

4. The combination, with the rotary table and its lock, of an intermittent spring-brake controlled by lever and cam for obviating the shock caused by thelocking of the table, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The herein-described plunger, consisting of the plunger proper m, connecting-rod 1", provided with a bush sliding therein, aspring o beneath said bush, and the bolt or set-screw t, whereby the compression of the spring may be adjusted, substantially as set forth.

6. In a brick-machine, the combination, with the rotary tableb and means for operating the same, of means for stopping the same, consisting of the bolt 0, a spring for moving said bolt, and the rocking arm q and face-cam s, for controlling the said spring, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

XVILLIAM JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

HY. ATKINSON, WM. FANT, Clerks to T. Greenwood Teale, N'oiary Public,

Leeds. 

